From an outside edublog titled "Free Technology for Teachers" I saw an interesting post pertaining to President's Day. The post was a youtube video of the cartoon "Animaniacs". The video clip was about a 3.5 minute long review of the Presidents of the United States in a song version. Two things came to mind. Keeping up with current events in the classroom and making education interesting for students.
I thought it was great to see a video like this come up when President's Day rolled around. I really like to see people celebrate or at least acknowledge any type of holiday. From an educational standpoint, a video like this can be shown in class or even assigned for students to watch at home as a quick activity to acknowledge President's Day. If the teacher wanted to, they can even attach a small assignment to the notion of President's Day.
I also thought it was a great video to come across because it is educational AND it can be entertaining to students. When training to become teachers we hear so much about making education interesting or making education meaningful to THEM. Videos like this are little things that a teacher can do to fulfill both of those demands. It reviews the history of every President (up to Bill Clinton when the video was made) and does it in a funny way where students will remember.
The link to this blog can be found at
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/02/fun-overview-of-us-presidents.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+freetech4teachers%2FcGEY+%28Free+Technology+for+Teachers%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
Hey Anthony,
ReplyDeleteI too am following this Edublog and I came across that very same video. I HAD to stop what I was doing and watch it, grinning from ear to ear. I have such fond memories of the Animaniacs from when I watched it as a kid. I was obsessed with the State Capitals song, and still have the handwritten lyrics that were photocopied by my fifth grade teacher for all of us to have and sing at home! What fun we all had (and learning too! SHHHHH! Don't spoil their fun)!
Thanks,
Sean
I'm glad I'm not the only one that came across it! I loved watching it as a kid as well. It's interesting to see from our perspective now how educational it can be.
ReplyDeleteAnthony, thanks for posting this! I too am an Animaniacs fan and I was so excited to hear the Presidents song again after 12 years later :) Did you ever play the video game? It was my favorite along with Sonic...I actually want to take my Sega out and play Animaniacs.
ReplyDeleteBut anyway, back to using meaningful and fun material...I really like using youtube clips in the classroom (if the school allows it). With history, I was able to get away with this a lot. I have used School House Rock's Preamble song from 7th grade to 11th grade and all my students loved it! Even if it is out dated, it's still fun to watch and sing along to no mater what age you are. Definitely using current events into the classroom is good way to relate what students are learning to the real world. That makes learning more meaningful and keeps students motivated.